Minnesota Police Department Sets Rescue Record Sunday

It happens all across the Land of 10,000 Lakes this time of year, but one police department here in Minnesota just set a record for the number of babies it rescued over the weekend.

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Of course, the babies we're talking about here are ducklings, and thanks to the tireless work of the West St. Paul Police Department (and a few West St. Paul firefighters) an even dozen of these little, fuzzy feathered friends are safely back with their mom.

In a post on their Twitter page, the West St. Paul police said the record rescue happened Sunday morning. Officers apparently pulled the baby birds out of a sewer culvert just after 9 a.m. According to the pictures, they gathered all 12 of them in a fishing net and then released them in a nearby pond where a very nervous mama duck was waiting.

You usually hear about these duckling rescues a couple of times a year here in Minnesota and Wisconsin during late May and early June. And, with the number of depressing stories making the news these days, it's always heartening to see a story with a happy ending, isn't it?

While we didn't have to rescue any of her ducklings, three years ago, a mama duck took up residence and built a nest next to one of our broadcast towers outside the Quick Country 96.5 studios downtown (you can read more about her HERE). However, she and her brood literally left the nest before any of us got to see any ducklings.

I did learn then, though, that something we commonly feed ducks probably isn't the best for them! (Again, read more HERE.)